Adopted Three Times (Part 3)

Not long after my adoption my beloved mammy passed away. I remember the morning my mom and dad woke me up very gently to give me the news. I was crushed! I cried harder that day than I have ever cried before. I’d like to believe she had hung on just for me; she was maybe waiting for me to get settled and happy with my loving new family. She may have no longer physically been there with me, but she would always live in my memories and current thoughts.

Church became a constant in my life.

My dad was a preacher; I was there all the time even when it wasn’t Sunday. I even had this beach chair that I could unfold and take a nap on if I got tired. I covered up with a beach towel too! I always thought this was pretty cool of my dad to set up for me even if I woke up with imprints of the beach chair on the side of my face. These things were always stored somewhere in his office at the church.

I was placed in a Sunday school class at the church my dad preached at. The class I was placed in was actually a class that my mom taught. I never actually spoke up, but I did a lot of listening.

I heard…

God created all things. Even me!

He loves us so much even though we have sinned against Him.

If we listen carefully we can hear God’s small still voice.

God is our heavenly father.

God sent his son to die on the cross to save us from our sins.

The Meaning of the ABCs. Admit, Believe and confess!

The bible isn’t just a book sitting on a bookshelf.

All sorts of bible stories.

Everything I heard I would wonder about and at some point I would work up the courage to ask my dad about my questions. He seemed to know what he was talking about. So I decided that he was the best person to ask all my questions to. My parents both had something that I couldn’t seem to touch no matter how good I was. This was something I had never seen with any of the people I had come into contact with over the years. Slowly over time I began to understand the things that I had heard in my Sunday school class.

I understood…

God created everything by speaking it into being. However, he formed me! (hands on experience)

He has nothing to do with any sin, or wrong thinking, or evil.

God loves us and wants us to know Him.

We are his children and he is our heavenly father.

I am a sinner!

I need to confess my sins.

God forgives!

God will never forsake me!

The bible was given to us by God.

One day I went to my dad and explained to him that I wanted to ask Jesus into my heart; as well as I could at my age. I wanted this special relationship with Jesus! My dad sat down with me and talked me through my decision. I wanted to ask Jesus into my heart! And he walked me through it step by step.

Then he prayed with me.

I was a child of God!

This was a huge thing for me. My family was the first and only people who had ever took the time to pray with me and introduce me to prayer. This was a whole new level of love for me!

The next Sunday that rolled around I forced myself to walk the aisle and tell my father that I wanted to be baptized and I was nervous. I didn’t like it when people stared at me and when you walk down the aisle during the invitation people tend to stare.

I don’t remember how many Sundays flew by before the Sunday that I was baptized on. I was so excited to be baptized! This day flew by and I wish it had lasted longer even if the water was freezing cold. However, it was worth every shivering moment.

John 1:12-13 NIV

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

I was apart of the family of God.

Growing up I’ve had all sorts of issues but I’d learned that God was worthy of placing my trust in.

I realized…

He was never going to give me up.

He was never going to leave me.

He would never stop loving me.

He is my forever family!

He is my Best friend!

1 John 3:1-2 NIV

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Over the years I’ve always wondered which of my birth parents I favor the most. Then I realized it doesn’t matter because I favor my heavenly father!

Genesis 1:27 NIV

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

I was made in his Image!

God even made it possible for me to look like my new parents. So much so that sometimes people don’t believe that I am adopted. This amuses me greatly!

Although I’ve had to go through lots of struggles to get to where I am today; these struggles have made me who I am and I wouldn’t trade this life that God has given me for anything in the world. God knew exactly what he was doing when he formed me in my mother’s womb.

I am the daughter of two loving parents. I am the daughter of a King!

I really am a princess!

Fun bible fact:

Both Moses and Esther were adopted.

Exodus 2:10 NIV

When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses,saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

Esther 2:7 NIV

Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

This isn’t the end of my life’s story but it is the end of Adopted three Times.